The current immigration legislation allows for a great deal of abuse by citizen employers. “It promotes exploitative employers, because they know that a lot of immigrants are here without legal status,” according to Jenny Yang, Author and Director of Advocacy and Policy for World Relief’s Refugee and Immigration Program. “Because they’re here without legal status…they don’t have, necessarily, the protection of the rule of law.” The current system provides no way for undocumented immigrants to speak up for themselves without the fear of being deported and leaving their families behind. “That’s why I think bringing immigrants out of the shadows into a process of reconciliation and restoration is so important.”

That being said, not every employer that employs undocumented immigrants is exploiting their employees. “There’s also a lot of employers who really want to do the right thing,” says Matthew Soerens, Author and World Relief Immigration and Refugee Expert.